Chatham House Rule

proper noun

A rule, applied to some controversial debates and discussion panels, stating that anybody who attends is free to use information from the discussion, but cannot reveal who made any comment.

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Meanings

Chatham House Rule1

proper nounthe Chatham House Rule

alternative Chatham House rule

  1. A rule, applied to some controversial debates and discussion panels, stating that anybody who attends is free to use information from the discussion, but cannot reveal who made any comment.

    The Chatham House Rule is used to help facilitate free speech and confidentiality at meetings.

    2014, Louise Corti, Veerle Van den Eynden, Libby Bishop, Matthew Woollard, Managing and Sharing Research Data: A Guide to Good Practice, SAGE, →ISBN, page 112

Chatham House rule2

proper nounthe Chatham House rule
  1. Alternative letter-case form of Chatham House Rule.

Origin

Named after the headquarters of the UK Royal Institute of International Affairs, based in Chatham House, London, where the rule originated in June 1927.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

Chatham House Rule. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Chatham%20House%20Rule

MLA

“Chatham House Rule.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Chatham%20House%20Rule. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “Chatham House Rule,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Chatham%20House%20Rule.

Source: Chatham House Rule on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.